New Cards Created with Gina K. Designs Today and Always and Massive Messages Stamp Sets

Gina K. Stamp Sets Today and Always and Massive Messages

This weekend I finally got a chance to make some cards.  It's been a crazy February here in Northern Wisconsin....Polar Vortex, Snow, More Snow, and today a Blizzard Warning.  The good news is that spring will come eventually. I enjoy winter when it's not below zero, but right now I'm ready for a change.  These colors make me happy!

Card Supplies:

Gina K. Inks:  Jelly Bean Green, Grass Green, Sweet Corn, Tomato Soup, Blue Lagoon

Additional Ink:  Black Versafine for the greetings

Gina K. Stamp Sets:  Today and Always and Massive Messages

Cardstock:  Neenah Solar White 80 lb. and Gina K. Black Onyx

Other items:  tape runner, foam dots, Brother Scan n' Cut, clear enamel dots

Gina K. Designs Mini Ink Cube Storage Solution

Gina K. ink cubes in clear plastic clamshell stamp cases

Recently I have started to think about how much crafting "stuff" I really need. Like others,  I spend so much time organizing and moving stuff around in my craft room that I don't really get to create.  So, I'm downsizing and keeping essential crafting items and stamp sets that I really love (and sets that are versatile).  The inks I have decided to keep are Gina K. Designs, Tim Holtz Distress Oxides, and a few Altenew sets.  I'm also keeping the essential pads like Versafine, Memento, Versamark, etc.

At first I was storing the ink cubes in the Tim Holtz storage tins.  They are cute, functional, and pretty inexpensive.  Even though these are small ink cubes, I felt like they were still taking up too much space in the tins.  Then, I tried putting them in some plastic stamp cases I had from some old wood mounted stamps I had unmounted.  I was excited to see that 24 ink cubes fit perfectly!  I like how I only have two containers for all the cubes instead of four of the Tim Holtz tins.  It's easier for me to grab these and get the colors I need.

The downside is that it's a bit of a challenge to keep them in "order" if that something that's important to you.  It doesn't bother me of they shift around a bit when I pull colors out.  I was thinking I could take some cardstock and make a "map" for the bottom of the case with the inks listed in the order I would like to keep them.  For now, I'm just happy all the colors are together in two cases.  I chose to get the ink cubes instead of the full size pads because they take up less space and I find them easy to use with my stamping platforms.

Getting Organized and Ink Swatches

Gina K. Ink Swatches

A long time ago, in the 1990's when I still had remnants of big hair, I fell in love with stamping.  I was all in for quite a while (about 10-12 years) until I started a family.  Then, my stamp room was taken over by little people.  Now, they are growing up and I have "reclaimed" my craft area.  I'm starting to inventory what I have and what I "need" to purchase/replace.  Some significant changes have occurred while I was away including stamp platforms, wafer thin dies, clear stamps, and more.  For now I have decided to use Gina K. Designs ink cubes and cardstock along with Altenew ink cubes.

I love how Gina K. inks and papers work together and the quality is excellent.  Also, I'm in Wisconsin and it feels good to help a fellow Cheesehead!  What attracted me to the Altenew ink cubes is they come in sets and I really like the colors.  I searched all over to find images of the stamped inks and there are not many out there so I'm going to get some posted here to help others.  So far I have played around with my Gina K. ink cubes and you can see some swatches here.  I'm still deciding if I want to go the Jennifer McGuire ink swatching system, or just swatch them all on a page. The image here is a 6 x 8 piece of cardstock in a page protector.  I will get some better quality images up soon.  I snapped this quick with my phone.